


how to be where you are

by yugto



Series: here comes science! [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Museums
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27600650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yugto/pseuds/yugto
Summary: The menu drops from Tetsurou’s fingers and falls to the ground. Neither of them notices. “The National Museum…” Tetsurou’s voice trails off, before he looks back up, his eyes suspiciously shiny. “That’shere, Kei, holyshit.”The words come out of Kei’s mouth all in a rush, finally breaking the dam he’s been building up for the last four months. “I’ve been applying to jobs in Tokyo since the school year started. I got rejected from almost all of them — that’s why I didn’t tell you I was applying. I didn’t want to get your hopes up. But I made it to the second round for this one, and… I don’t know, for some reason I have a really good feeling about this one.”Or, the one in which Tsukishima Kei just wants to make it to Tokyo.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: here comes science! [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967587
Comments: 6
Kudos: 55





	how to be where you are

**Author's Note:**

> > _I’m ashamed to admit I’m afraid of assuming the blame_  
>  _For my lame abnegation of braveness and fame_  
>  _Brain in a jar in a car in reverse I’m rehearsing the way_  
>  _I’ll replay how to say how to be where you are_  
> 
> 
> – [“I Love You For Psychological Reasons”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oesgd0NL124), They Might Be Giants
> 
> had a lot of fun diving back into this verse to write this little followup! it takes place about two years after chapter 6 of [the one moment that matters](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25985719). it’s probably best to read that first, if you haven’t done so already!
> 
> happy birthday to the one and only provocation master kuroo who _canonically inspired tsukki_!! between that and the krtsk commercial, we as a krtsk community are truly feasting this year!!! here is my humble contribution to the potluck.

_3M Sendai City Science Museum  
August 31, 2018_

The moment Kei steps foot on the museum observation deck, his phone buzzes in his pocket. _Significant Bother_ flashes across the screen, accompanied by a purikura photo of Kei and Tetsurou with cat ears and whiskers drawn on their faces. He spares a moment to roll his eyes fondly at the picture, then swipes to answer the call. 

“Happy last day of camp!” Tetsurou grins, coming into focus on the screen. “How’s it feel to be almost done?” He’s in what looks like the break room at his job, still wearing the pristine white labcoat with _Nippon Medical School Hospital_ embroidered on it in neat kanji.

“It’s… weird,” says Kei thoughtfully. Leaning on the railing, he looks past the camera and out to Dainohara Forest Park beyond. Below the observation deck, the yells of campers out at morning recess drift up from the playground. “I’ve known these kids for five years at this point. I’ve kind of grown up with them, you know? I was their high school aide and their camp counselor. Now I’m their ops lead. Some of the high school aides we have this summer are campers we had as middle schoolers, and some of our new counselors were high school aides just a couple of years ago. I don’t know how to tell them this is my last summer here…”

“I never did tell the kids I was leaving,” Tetsurou says thoughtfully. “Although to be fair, I had a lot on my mind on that last day of camp.” He winks at the camera. “It _was_ our first full day of being boyfriends, after all.”

“Oh my god,” Kei mumbles, doing his best to ignore the way his face is slowly turning red. By the grin on Tetsurou’s face, he gathers this effort is not going unnoticed. 

“That was two whole years ago! They grow up so fast.” Tetsurou wipes a fake tear from his eye. _Dramatic ass_ , Kei thinks, not without fondness. “But really...” Here, Tetsurou’s voice softens, taking a more serious tone. “Whether or not you tell the kids goodbye, I think all you can do is trust that they’ll be okay, even if you’re not around to see it. You and I did what we could to teach them, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” A moment of silence stretches between them, punctured only by the sounds of an argument drifting up from the foursquare court. “How’s the lab?” Kei asks eventually. They both know he’s not the best at talking about feelings; Tetsurou’s just kind enough to let his transparent attempt to change the subject slide.

“Eh, same old, same old. But you’re never going to guess who the new guy at the lab is.” Before Kei can deadpan something like _You mean you actually talk to people? You don’t just analyze blood samples all day?_ , Tetsurou’s face lights up with glee. “Wait, he’s here! _Oi!_ ” He turns around and hollers this last bit at a volume that makes Kei, two hours and hundreds of kilometers away, wince. “Check this out, Kei.”

He tilts the camera to the side to reveal a startled Sakusa Kiyoomi, dressed in the same pristine white labcoat as Tetsurou, midway through removing his face shield. Kei knows from years of working with him that the face mask beneath the face shield will stay on throughout his break, and he’s probably going to start washing his hands sometime in the next few minutes. As he takes off the face shield, Kei spots a pair of cutesy little fox-shaped hairclips holding his bangs back. “Oh. Hello, Tsukishima-kun,” he says, slightly muffled by his ever-present face mask.

“Nice to see you, Sakusa-san,” Kei says politely. “I hope that lab’s treating you better than the museum cafeteria.”

Crossing the break room to the sink, Sakusa carefully removes his gloves and starts washing his hands. Scrubbing diligently, he tosses over his shoulder, “I traded the Miyas for working with your boyfriend. Thus far it seems to be an upgrade.”

“Aw, Omi-kun, you say that like you never see them anymore.” Tetsurou tilts the camera back toward himself, showing the shit-eating grin with which Kei has become all too familiar over the four years they’ve known each other. In a stage whisper, he informs Kei, “ _He’s dating Miya Atsumu._ ”

“He’s _what_ ,” says Kei a little too loudly, prompting a glare from Sakusa across the room. But in his defense, like anyone else with eyes employed at the 3M Sendai City Science Museum for the summers of 2015 through 2017, he’s deeply and intimately familiar with Sakusa’s not-so-thinly veiled disdain for the Miyas, _especially_ Miya Atsumu. This development is surprising, to say the least. 

As he opens his mouth to press Tetsurou for more information – like, really? _Miya Atsumu?_ – his radio crackles. On the other end, Takeda, sounding harried, says, “Tsukishima-kun, could you come back a little early? Smartest Artist is having an emergency and Tateyama-chan _just_ went on break. We can’t call her back yet.”

“Five hundred yen says it’s a paint fight,” Tetsurou snickers. 

“No bet,” Kei shoots back immediately, then picks up the radio. “I’ll be right there,” he tells Takeda. Clipping the radio back to his belt, he says to Sakusa’s scowling face, “Congratulations, Sakusa-san,” and to Tetsurou, “I want details later.”

“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. See you then. Have fun cleaning up your last ever paint fight.” Tetsurou blows an exaggerated kiss at the camera. In the background, as the screen goes black, Kei sees Sakusa cringe. Whether it’s at the idea of cleaning up the paint fight or just at how embarrassing Tetsurou is, Kei’s not sure. (Either way, he can relate.)

🧬

_Kei & Tadashi’s Apartment  
August 31, 2018_

Kei raps his knuckles on Tadashi’s doorframe sharply, calling out, “Oi, finish packing before we leave for Koganegawa’s. I know you won’t want to do anything when we get home, and we’re leaving early tomorrow.”

The last day of camp has finally come to a close, bringing the counselors’ end-of-the-summer celebration with it; this year, Koganegawa’s got the dubious honor of hosting. Kei already knows how he’ll spend this party: for most of the night, he’ll stand in the corner with Kunimi, trying to talk him into answering clicker questions for Kei in biology on Tuesday. They’ll do a round of soju shots when Tadashi wheedles them into it, then judge Koganegawa and Kindaichi when they start to get a little too rowdy. Eventually, Kei will hustle Tadashi’s half-asleep ass into a rideshare and get the two of them home around one in the morning. It’s not his ideal Friday night, _especially_ given their weekend plans, but Tadashi had cajoled him into going. _It’s our final party as camp counselors,_ he’d said, voice cracking a little. _We have to show up one last time!_

The source of Kei’s problems calls back over the faint strains of Filipino pop music, “Always so responsible, Tsukki!” As Kei heads back into his room to finish packing the half-filled suitcase on the bed, Tadashi’s warbling follows him down the hall: _Araw-araw, ikaw ang gusto kong kasama! Buhay ko’y completo na, tuwing nandidito ka..._

Opening his closet, Kei stands there for a minute, looking critically at what’s hanging inside. After some deliberation, he pulls out a pale blue button-up printed with a subtle dinosaur pattern, a pair of chinos, and a cream-colored cardigan to top off the whole ensemble. Carefully folding these items up, he packs them into the suitcase. “Maybe I’ll just borrow an iron while we’re there,” he mumbles to no one in particular. He retrieves a plastic bag from under the kitchen sink and his nice dress shoes from the genkan, bags the shoes, and returns to his room to add those to the suitcase.

“Be sure to bring protection,” Tadashi singsongs, poking his head around the doorframe with a wicked grin. 

Kei throws a balled-up pair of socks at Tadashi, which he expertly dodges, and shoots back, “At least _I’m_ not running the risk of getting anyone pregnant.” The socks may have missed their mark, but his words are right on target; he revels in watching Tadashi turn bright red, hurl the socks back at Kei, and duck away.

“We have to leave in fifteen so we can pick up drinks along the way,” he calls after Tadashi’s retreating back. “Are you done packing yet?”

“I’m _working_ on it!” Tadashi yells back, audibly flustered. 

“Be sure to bring protection!” Kei parrots back at him.

🧬

_Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen (Sendai Station, Sendai - Ueno Station, Tokyo)  
September 1, 2018_

“Why did we get tickets for _this_ train?” Tadashi groans, cradling his head in his hands. 

It’s just past seven in the morning, and they’re seated side by side on the shinkansen from Miyagi to Tokyo. Outside the window, the buildings of Sendai blur together as the train gradually gains speed; in the window seat sits Tadashi, looking faintly green, while Kei sprawls out over the aisle seat. 

“ _You_ wanted to spend more time with your girlfriend this weekend,” says Kei. To punctuate his statement, he takes a bite of his konbini onigiri — their breakfast, since neither of them had wanted to get up early enough to eat before they left for the station. (Every time they make this trip, Kei thanks whatever higher powers there may be for the existence of 24-hour konbinis.)

“Oh, like you didn’t want to see your boyfriend. Hitoka would understand if we came a little later,” says Tadashi mournfully through a bite of his own onigiri. The rice in the onigiri is a little dry, and some of it falls on his lap as he bites into it. Between the rice on his lap and the pained look on his face, he’s a pitiful sight to see. Kei rummages in his backpack for the little bottle of ibuprofen he keeps handy, passing it over wordlessly.

After a couple of tablets of ibuprofen and about fifteen minutes, Tadashi starts to look a little more human. Once he’s confirmed that Tadashi’s in a state to actually remember his lecture, Kei points out, “This is your fault for taking so many shots with Koganegawa and Kindaichi.”

“It was our last party as camp counselors! We had to go all out,” Tadashi huffs. “But hey, at least no one cried this year. Do you remember two years ago when Oikawa was, like, super drunk and cry-singing ’Graduation’ by Vitamin C?” He stumbles a little over the English words, but Kei chalks that up more to Tadashi’s continuing difficulties with English than to his hangover. Tadashi’s English difficulties aside, Kei does not remember this at all. The confused look on his face is probably all the information Tadashi needs; his grin turns into a smirk. “Oh _yeah_ , you were outside kissing Kuroo-san for that one.”

“You made so much money off the counselor betting pool because I was _outside kissing Kuroo-san_ ,” drawls Kei. “I don’t think you have any room to laugh.”

“Yeah, yeah, I bought you your strawberry shortcake, stop complaining.” Tadashi waves his hands dismissively. “Anyway, speaking of Kuroo-san. Have you talked to him about it yet?”

Kei slumps back into his seat. Tadashi turns to look at him; as he’s opening his mouth to say something, Kei mumbles, “I’m trying to figure out the right time to tell him.”

“Tsukki!” Tadashi leans toward him, headache seemingly forgotten. The tone in his voice is more scolding than anything.

Defensively, Kei shoots back, “Timing is everything, Tadashi! And what if it’s still too early to tell him? I don’t even know if this is going to work out.”

“You just have to tell him!” An old lady across the aisle glares at the two of them; Tadashi, out of deference, lowers his voice to a volume more fitting of seven-thirty in the morning. “ _Every_ good relationship is built on _com-mu-ni-ca-tion_.” He emphasizes each syllable, as if Kei is a very small child. Kei, as the person who _taught_ Tadashi this tactic, is at once incredibly proud and incredibly annoyed. Unfazed, Tadashi continues, “Me and Hitoka are going on five years! I should know!”

“Why do you always have to be right,” Kei grouses.

“It’s one of my many talents. Anyway, you’d better tell him soon. Hitoka’s willing to let you stay over an extra day if you have to, but I know where you’d rather spend the night.” Tadashi waggles his eyebrows. 

"I regret giving you ibuprofen," Kei informs him matter-of-factly, settling back into his seat and resigning himself to another hour of being roasted. Tadashi just giggles.

🧬

_National Museum of Nature and Science  
September 1, 2018_

A debate at the train station escalates into a heated game of jankenpon, which decides that they — _they_ being Kei, Tadashi, Tetsurou, and Hitoka — will hit one of the nearby izakayas for lunch. ( _Stop complaining_ , Kei tells Tetsurou, _we can go to the cat cafe next time._ ) After a pleasant lunch, Tadashi and Hitoka head off to visit the Yayoi Kusama Museum, promising to send photos; Kei and Tetsurou spend the afternoon exploring the exhibits at the National Museum of Nature and Science, then head to the museum restaurant to get dinner together.

“You _have_ to try the dinosaur parfait,” Tetsurou insists, leaning across the table to point it out on Kei’s menu. “Look at it! It’s the cutest thing on this whole menu.”

“You’re just going to take a picture of me with it when I’m not looking and post it on Instagram with an embarrassing caption,” Kei shoots back.

“Guilty,” says Tetsurou, without a single trace of shame. “Listen, Yamaguchi and Yacchan can’t have all the good photos today.”

“You know we could’ve gone to the museum with them, right? I can’t believe you brought me here literally the day after I finished working at another science museum.” The words seem harsh, but Tetsurou’s always been good at reading between the lines; he grins at the unspoken _Thanks for bringing me here_ in Kei’s words. Here, Kei pauses, takes a moment to line up his next sentences, then fires them off one by one: “Well. It’s good research. I’ll be back here on Monday anyway.” 

For all his agonizing over timing and wording, it’s surprisingly easy to tell Tetsurou when it comes down to it. The words catch him right where Kei wants them; he fumbles with his menu, letting out an abrupt “Wait, what?”

Wordlessly, Kei fishes in his pocket for his phone and pulls up a screenshot from two weeks ago, passing it across the table. It’s a screenshot of an email he’s practically memorized at this point: _Tsukishima-kun, Congratulations! We were impressed with your first round phone interview, and would like to invite you to an on-site interview at the National Museum of Nature and Science. By **August 15th** , please sign up for an interview slot by clicking this link. Since you live outside Tokyo, transportation to the museum will be compensated… _

The menu drops from Tetsurou’s fingers and falls to the ground. Neither of them notices. “The National Museum…” Tetsurou’s voice trails off, before he looks back up, his eyes suspiciously shiny. “That’s _here_ , Kei, holy _shit_.”

The words come out of Kei’s mouth all in a rush, finally breaking the dam he’s been building up for the last four months. “I’ve been applying to jobs in Tokyo since the school year started. I got rejected from almost all of them — that’s why I didn’t tell you I was applying. I didn’t want to get your hopes up. But I made it to the second round for this one, and… I don’t know, for some reason I have a really good feeling about this one.”

“I mean—” here, Tetsurou makes a vain attempt to look like he’s _not_ about to cry— “you’ve been one of the museum’s star employees for five years running. They’d be fools not to take you.”

“ _Star employee_ is kind of pushing it, but here’s hoping,” Kei mumbles. He picks nervously at a piece of plastic peeling off the corner of his menu, looking past Tetsurou and out the restaurant window to the museum exhibits beyond. “My interview is Monday morning, so is it okay if I stay with you an extra day? If you’re busy, I can stay with Hitoka…”

“Oh, absolutely!” When Kei turns back to Tetsurou, the grin he’s met with is almost blinding. “Stay until Tuesday, even. And after this, I’m taking you around the exhibits again. If you want to work here, you have to know this museum inside out!”

🧬

**karasuno ‘15 locals  
** _Members: Tsukishima Kei, Yamaguchi Tadashi, Yachi Hitoka_

> **Me** 7:47 PM  
>  I told him.
> 
> **Tadashi** 7:48 PM  
>  Omg FINALLY  
>  Ok now you HAVE to rock that interview  
>  Your boy is counting on you!!
> 
> **Hitoka** 7:50 PM  
>  Tadashi and I are rooting for you too!  
>  Do your best, Kei-kun! 😊💕

🧬

_Tetsurou’s Apartment (Kitchen)  
September 3, 2018_

Tetsurou’s cat Kenny was one of his first investments in college, a little bit of company for a boy who had left everything he knew behind to go to university in Sendai. (Or at least that’s the way Tetsurou likes to phrase it; Kei knows full well that Bokuto was his roommate the entire time the two of them were at Tohoku University.)

Kenny, unlike his almost-namesake Kenma ( _I wanted to name him after Kenma, but he said no. But look! Doesn’t he look like Kenma’s hair did in high school?_ ) is a ball of energy, more like a dog than a cat, if you ask Kei. But right now, as he lets himself into Tetsurou’s apartment, a tamago sando from the konbini down the street in his hand, Kei thinks that Kenny is just the distraction he needs. And he’s right: between the biology problem set he’s got due Wednesday and Kenny’s constant need for food and/or attention, there’s no time for Kei to get caught up in wondering if he made it past this interview, or if he’s got to resign himself to another cycle of resume updates and applications and interviews. With his textbook and laptop set up on Tetsurou’s kitchen table, he makes it halfway through the problem set before Kenny starts to whine as if no one’s played with him in years.

“You are so dramatic,” Kei tells Kenny, who climbs up and sits on Kei’s keyboard, meowing plaintively. A long line of gibberish spews forth from his paws; Kei scoops him up and closes the laptop before he can do any lasting damage to Kei’s biology homework. “Just like your owner, huh?”

Kenny purrs, sounding like nothing so much as a tiny motorcycle engine. Kei takes that as a yes and abandons his problem set for the afternoon, resigning himself to entertaining Kenny until Tetsurou comes home. At half past five, Tetsurou comes through the door to find Kei on the couch, flashing a little laser light around the room as Kenny goes wild. 

He bends down to drop a kiss on Kei’s forehead. “How’d it go?”

“Ugh. I think it went well? I can never tell with interviewers,” Kei mumbles. The laser light forgotten, Kenny immediately sidles up to Tetsurou, meowing like Kei hasn’t spent almost the entire afternoon entertaining him.

“Well, if you need a distraction…” Tetsurou trails off suggestively, winking.

Kei sits bolt upright, scandalized. “Wait, what, right here? In front of your _cat?_ ”

The borderline-seductive look falls off Tetsurou’s face, quick as lightning, and he bursts out laughing. As he struggles to catch his breath, Kei sits for a moment with the knowledge that he’s known this fool for four years now, and yet _he’s_ the one still foolish enough to fall for Tetsurou’s jokes. “Oh my god, _never_ in front of Kenny! Get your mind out of the gutter, Kei.” Calming down somewhat, he holds up a couple of plastic bags. “I was going to say, I brought home ingredients for curry, if you want to help me cook dinner.”

Rolling his eyes, Kei takes the offered distraction. Tetsurou navigates the mess of his kitchen to set Kei up with a cutting board and a pack of chicken thighs, then starts chopping up vegetables for curry. He’s donned the spare set of lab goggles he keeps in the kitchen for when he chops onions, a fact Kei both finds ridiculously endearing and never fails to make fun of him for.

As they chop the vegetables and the meat, crammed shoulder to shoulder in Tetsurou’s tiny kitchen, Tetsurou updates Kei on how Bokuto and Akaashi are _both_ planning to propose to each other, and he’s being as unhelpful as possible on both sides because he wants to see who’ll actually do it first. Kenny headbutts their legs, meowing loudly, and Kei scolds him like he’s one of their campers and not a six-year-old cat. It’s ridiculously domestic. Kei’s not an optimist by principle, but for a moment, he indulges himself in a fantasy where he gets the job at the National Museum and every evening is just like this one.

When Kei comes back to earth, Tetsurou’s midway through an anecdote about taking Bokuto ring shopping; suddenly, he interrupts himself mid-sentence: “ _Shit_ , I forgot to tell Omi-kun I’m out tomorrow. Can you pass me my phone?” Kei reaches over to where Tetsurou’s phone is plugged into the outlet, handing it over. Tetsurou props it up against the kitchen wall and scrolls through his contact list with one finger, eventually finding Sakusa’s name and hitting the video call button.

“Hello?” says Sakusa after a few rings, looking confused. “Kuroo-kun, what’s going on?”

“Bro,” says Tetsurou, expertly peeling an apple with one of the kitchen knives, “I forgot to tell you while I was at work, but my boyfriend’s in town an extra day so I’m calling out tomorrow. Can you make sure the Nakamura samples get processed while I’m out? Oh, and the Kanagawa report needs to be filed, and—”

“First of all,” Sakusa cuts in, “don’t call me _bro._ Second of all—”

“Oh, is that Tettsun?” someone calls, a little further away from the phone. It is, Kei registers with surprise, undoubtedly the voice of Miya Atsumu. “Is Tsukki in town?”

“This is a work call. Shut up, ’Tsumu.”

_’Tsumu?_ Kei mouths at Tetsurou. Tetsurou shoots him a smirk that clearly reads _Told you so_ as Atsumu comes into view, whining, “Aw, _c’mooooon_ , Omi, it’s just Tettsun. We’re bros!”

“ _Bro,_ ” says Tetsurou with feeling. Kei and Sakusa both roll their eyes.

“And _second_ of all,” Sakusa says, making a valiant effort to pick up where he left off, despite the fact that this conversation has gone completely off the rails, “you’re taking the fucking day off, so act like it.” The screen goes dark. Tetsurou blinks a couple of times, knife frozen halfway through peeling the apple.

Kei takes the knife and the apple from Tetsurou’s hands before he hurts himself, deadpanning, “I think that means the samples will get processed and the report will be filed. But wow. Never thought I’d see the day where _Sakusa_ lectured you on work-life balance.”

“What can I say?” Tetsurou grins. “Just trying to make sure everything’s okay while I’m gone. Maybe you’ve been a good influence on me.”

🧬

_Tetsurou’s Apartment (Bedroom)  
September 4, 2018_

The next morning, Kei awakens to his phone buzzing insistently. He’s tempted to ignore it, especially with Tetsurou burrowing into his side, mumbling “Mmph. Five more minutes.” As soon as the phone stops buzzing, it starts right back up again, so Kei figures it must be important. He answers it. 

“Hello? This is Tsukishima.”

“Tsukishima-kun!” says a woman’s voice on the other end. “This is Kokonose from the National Museum of Nature and Science. We spoke yesterday.”

Kei sits bolt upright in bed, abruptly dislodging Tetsurou from where he’s snuggled into Kei’s side. As Tetsurou lets out a distressed grumble, Kei wishes, wildly, that he was wearing his glasses (or, at the very least, a shirt) for this conversation. “Yes, Kokonose-san. Good morning. It’s nice to hear from you.”

“I’m glad I was able to catch you, Tsukishima-kun! If you recall, I mentioned yesterday that you were the last applicant we were interviewing. The hiring committee met yesterday afternoon to discuss our decisions...”

She pauses. The sound of shuffling papers comes down the line. Tetsurou, fully awake now, is practically glued to Kei’s side, listening in on the call. With numb fingers, Kei peels the phone away from his ear and puts it on speaker, just in time for both of them to hear her say, “We were very impressed with your prior work at the Sendai City Science Museum, and think you would be a wonderful outreach coordinator for the archaeology department. Upon your graduation from Tohoku University, we’d like to formally offer you a position here with the museum.”

Kei, possibly, stops breathing; it’s a wonder he doesn’t drop the phone, shaky as his hands are. Tetsurou claps his hands over his mouth, eyes lit up with joy, wide and shiny with unshed tears.

“Later today, we’ll send over an offer letter with more details,” Kokonose continues, unaware of what’s happening on the other end, “so there’s no need to tell me your decision right now — I just wanted to call you and say congratulations. We’ll need to hear from you by September 18th. You have my card if you have any further questions before making your decision.”

The card in question is in Kei’s pants pocket, somewhere on the floor of Tetsurou’s bedroom. “Thank you so much,” he says, his voice just a little bit shaky. “I’ll be in touch.”

“It’s our pleasure, Tsukishima-kun! Have a safe trip back to Miyagi,” says Kokonose, and ends the call. 

The phone falls from Kei’s shaking hands, bouncing slightly when it drops onto the bed. They sit there in stunned silence for a second, before Tetsurou throws his arms around Kei, burying his face in the juncture between Kei’s neck and shoulder.

“Holy _shit_ , Kei, you did it,” Tetsurou chokes out, his breath warm against Kei’s skin. “I knew you’d make it, you’re perfect for the job, but holy _shit_. Are you—” here, he pulls back to look Kei in the eye, a tinge of apprehension in the set of his jaw. “Are you gonna take the offer? Do you need time to think about it?”

See, here’s the thing: Tsukishima Kei is an overthinker by nature. Every decision, from where he’d go for high school to whether or not he’d ever confess to Kuroo Tetsurou, is the result of careful deliberation. But when he thinks about _finally_ being able to see Tetsurou more than once a month, or about days like yesterday _not_ being out of the ordinary – well, Kei finds that this decision is one that really makes itself. 

“Of _course_ I’m gonna take it.” He winds his arms around Tetsurou, ducking down to press a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Better make some room for me,” he whispers against Tetsurou’s lips. “I’ll be here soon.”

🧬

**tsukishima.k  
**📍 National Museum of Nature and Science

_[Image: A picture of Tetsurou and Kei in front of the Allosaurus fossil at the museum. Tetsurou is clinging dramatically to Kei, making a fake terrified face as if he’s in Jurassic Park. Kei has his arm around Tetsurou’s shoulders. He’s rolling his eyes, but there’s a fond smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.]_

**tsukishima.k** two years with this nerd. happy (belated) anniversary

> _View all 12 comments  
>  _**hitokaaaaa_** awww you two are so cute!! happy anniversary 🥰💕  
>  **yamaguchitadashi** happy anni to my fav museum power couple 🤩🤩🤩

**krttsr  
**📍 National Museum of Nature and Science

_[A set of two images. The first is a picture taken of Kei at the restaurant inside the museum. He’s talking animatedly about something, waving his hands as if to prove a point. In front of him, there’s a little parfait with a dinosaur-shaped decoration on top. The second is a picture of Kei and Tetsurou in front of the Allosaurus at the museum; Tetsurou is standing on tiptoe to kiss Kei on the cheek.]_

**krttsr** this nerd just gave me the BEST anniversary present ever. tokyo isn’t ready for you ❣️

> _View all 16 comments  
>  _**kodzukenofficial** we get it you’re in love  
>  **bokutobeam** TOKYO??? WDYM TSUKKI ARE U COMIN HERE!!!! @tsukishima.k  
>  **tsukishima.k** You’re so embarrassing.  
>  **tsukishima.k** See you soon, Tetsu. ♡

**Author's Note:**

> some fun facts about this fic:
> 
>   * in the packing scene, yamaguchi is singing [dahil sa’yo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMm1Cb4oSMg) by inigo pascual; the lyrics translate to “every day, you’re the one i want to be with / my life’s complete when you’re here”. a nice little theme song for both ldr couples in this fic :')
>   * kenny the cat looks like the cat in [this nendoroid](https://twitter.com/orangerouge_pr/status/1328533341138788352/photo/3)
>   * tsukki’s Job Application Anxiety is 100% based off my own aha ha... (but at least tsukki’s not graduating into a covid economy next june??)
>   * in this series kuroo and tsukki never say goodbye to each other, only variations of “see you later” :^)
> 

> 
> if you liked this fic, consider leaving a comment or retweeting the [promo tweet](https://twitter.com/tadhanastar/status/1328589839491616770?s=20)! thanks for reading <3 i'm on twitter [@tadhanastar](https://twitter.com/tadhanastar) if you want to yell about haikyuu with me!


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